Apologetics 2 - Truth Exists

It is sad that this even has to be the first step, but in today's culture, that's just the way it is, so I will start off by explaining that there are four basic kinds of statements:

1. Questions
2. Opinions
3. Commands
4. Propositions

Propositions, by definition, are those statements which can either be true or false. Religion, Christianity included, makes propositional statements (not questions or opinions) about God, the universe, and mankind. The question is, are these propositions, and truth itself objective?  There are four theories regarding truth, and what it consists of that we will investigate further.

1. Non-existent. – Very few actually take it this far because you could not make statements about anything and you could never be certain about anything or have a basis for anything.
2. Subjective and Internal – Each person can have a different truth.
• The Pragmatic Theory dictates propositions are true if they bring about the desired result, or provide me with a good basis for action. What about superstitions or mutually contradictory beliefs that both work?
3. Relative and Cultural – Societies or groups determine truth.
• The Coherence Theory dictates propositions are true if they are consistent within the overall system of beliefs (which can change over time). Are things true just because people believe they are? Were things not true before people believed them?
4. Objective and Intrinsic – Truth is external to and independent from people.
• The Correspondence Theory dictates propositions are true if they accurately correspond to a fact.

The laws of nature don’t change just because a person or group of people believe they do, otherwise science would not work. Science is founded on the principle that there is a truth about the way the material universe works that is constant. There has to be objective truth for science to work.

There are also self-evident truths, or things that can be known a priori. Even our country was founded on this principle.  Some statements point to truths by referring to themselves, such as, “this statement contains five words.”  Other statements are self-refuting and point to their opposite self-evident truths. The best example of this is the statement, “It is true that truth does not exist.” If it is true, then truth exists, so it is false. If it is false, then truth exists. Lastly, there are self-evident statements themselves. A good example is, “something exists.” This has to be true.  If there is any one thing that is objectively true, then objective truth does exist. Logic dictates that objective truth must exist.

Many, including C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity, make the claim for God because there are universal moral principles and they must come from somewhere. Some people refute that statement and claim that while there may be objective truths about science, there are not about morality. However, people who espouse the view of moral relativism are actually inconsistent and self-refuting. They say that there are no moral principles which apply to all people. The statement that everyone has relative morals is putting an absolute moral standard universally on everyone. Relativists don’t claim that relativism is true for relativists; they say it is absolutely true, yet they claim to not believe in absolute truths. Another example is the claim that you have to be tolerant.  That is actually hypocritical and self-refuting because it is intolerant against intolerance.

A relative morality cannot be improved, if morality is just what I want to do. This leaves no room for personal growth, or becoming a better person. When you change, it is no more valid or better than before, just different. Others cannot be accused of wrongdoing either, because if they want to do it, or their culture says it is okay, then you can’t apply your view that it is wrong on them. There could never be a means of solving disagreements nor could there even be the concept of justice or punishment.